She never smiled. She never hugged my dad goodbye. How could she? She was grieving. In October 1950, when my “church planter” parents, Clinton and Faye Brazle were preparing for their move to Bozeman, Montana from their Stillwater, OK years, my mom’s mom, Lulu Mae Guinn, was not happy about the move. By the time mom said goodbye that day, one of the reasons Grandma Guinn turned away and would not even shake hands or smile? She had already buried 4 of her 13 children, and now her baby daughter was going far away. Grief is real, undeniable, and should be expressed. Letting go is not easy.
We have considered this scene repeated as we see global workers give hugs at one airport departure after another. We bid farewell to our parents when we headed to Belgium in November, 1977. In 2003 we bid farewell to our oldest, Luk and his sweet wife, Holly. Now they have lived/worked longer in Belgium than we did as a family! In 2011, our youngest, Kristina and Caleb Meeks with their sweet Aletheia, would have us repeat this airport farewell as they left for TZ with the Mtwara Team. So many farewells. So much loss. Open hands, yes, but hurting empty hearts that are full of pride.
There are different kinds of parents of global workers. You know who you are! Some of you have been praying since before your Kingdom-minded, global worker child was born that they would someday go somewhere, anywhere and do something for God. Then there are those who have prayed their child would be active for God on their own block in their home town within walking distance of the grandparents. No matter what kind of parent you are, we can pray for one another. We can share our open-handed lament with each other. We thank the Father we have this community of parents with which to share. If you have not yet, visit the “Parents of Global Workers” Facebook page and request to be added. You will be asked three simple questions. If your child works in a restricted nation, simply answer “restricted”. We pledge to make this a secure experience.
In any case, thank you for walking this journey with us! We are so thankful for your encouragement.
